Review: To Every Thing There is a Season

To Every Thing There is a Season

Illustrated by Jude Daly

Publication Date: 2006
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
ISBN: 1-84507-344-4

Summary/Back cover:
To every thing there is a season,
And a time to every purpose under the heaven…

The well-loved words of Ecclesiastes take on new life and meaning set against the sun-baked rural setting of a South African homestead, in a jewel-like portrayal by Jude Daly.

Review:
I don’t know if this puts me in the “bad mummy” category, but I thought this book might help me to explain death and killing to my small children. The good thing about these verses is that the bad is always laid aside the good.

I couldn’t help humming The Byrds “Turn, Turn, Turn” in my head as I was reading the story. It is generally well accepted that there is virtue and wisdom in the words. Although it is up to every parent as to when they think their children are ready to be introduced to some of these concepts.

There is an illustration for every notion. The illustrations are beautiful. I was relieved to see that the image for “a time to kill” depicted a fishing boat in a harbour. There is certainly a lot of scope for parents to discuss the ideas raised with their children by referencing the activities taking place in the pictures. Sometimes it took me a while to equate how the illustration related to the words, though.

For anyone wanting a children’s book version of these eponymous words, I think that you would struggle to find a more lovely version than this one.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s